What Have we Learned about Conflict Resolution? (Breakout Session)

Presented by Ronnie Rosenbaum and John Rymers

Description

Living in an Aging Intergenerational Community: What have we Learned?

Two seasoned family and elder mediators share how they have applied their conflict resolution and communications experiences to two intergenerational cohousing communities located in the Denver metro area, in which they each have lived for 20 years. Topics include:

1. Challenges of intergenerational living
2. Unique aspects of cohousing that help or hinder interpersonal dynamics
3. Limitations of an internal "expert" and when to bring in an outside resource

About the Presenter/s

Ronnie Rosenbaum, MS
As a mediator, collaborative divorce facilitator, parenting coordinator and conflict coach, Ronnie assists families in the resolution of issues including those related to divorce, parenting, and aging. She has long-time experience providing services to families going through multi-generational transitions. Trained in Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg, she is the President of Colorado Collaborative Divorce Professionals, is a member of the Colorado Office of Dispute Resolution Advisory Committee, and is qualified by the Mediation Association of Colorado as a Professional Mediator. Through her professional activities and by living in a multi-generational co-housing community since 1997 (Harmony Village in Golden), Ronnie is able to actualize her commitment to being a peacemaker.

John Rymers, MA, LPC
John has been living at Highline Crossing CoHousing Community since its inception in 1995. John has witnessed the good the bad and the ugly of forming and maintaining a cohousing community and has been involved for 20 years in nurturing and supporting the community culture at Highline Crossing, one of the oldest cohousing communities in Colorado. Professionally, John is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a trained mediator providing dispute resolution services in the domestic relations and elder care arenas. He and his friend and co-presenter at this conference, Ronnie Rosenbaum (Harmony Village CoHousing) have worked together as co-facilitators and presenters around cohousing and aging issues. They have each facilitated meetings in the other’s cohousing community.